Cattle, Food and Old Farm Trucks

This past week I got to see my first returns on my bucket calf venture: LSC (Lyndee Stabel Cattle).  When Taylor went to the sale in Dodge last Wednesday, Isabelle, Ivan and Ivy went with him. We don't have the right set up yet, but we're hoping to fence off the 80 acres surrounding our house and be able to turn out any future bottle calves we raise once they're big enough and keep growing them from there.  But we're not at that point yet, so since all three calves were growing quickly, we decided to go ahead and sell them.  Apparently Taylor and I aren't the best at guessing the weights of baby calves because we thought they would weigh more than they did.  I'm blaming our misjudgment on the fact that they were so tiny when we first got them; they looked so big, comparatively.  :)

Now I've got four new babies.  Taylor picked out the theme for their names this time.  We have Lancelot, Guinevere, Merlin and Camelot.  So far they are all doing well.  I'll try to include some pictures in my next blog.

Taylor and I went back to my hometown for a wedding this weekend.  The wedding was a blast, but honestly, some of my favorite parts of the weekend involved dancing with my nieces around the kitchen on Friday night and driving my dad's old farm truck to take a palette-load of soybeans to the field for him while he was planting. 
I recently got a new jeep, so I do my best to try to keep it nice and clean.  My vehicle is great, but a part of me loves and misses climbing into an old, beat-up, rusted-out truck.  One where you have to use both hands to roll down the window, and it doesn't matter if dust blows in from the gravel roads because, to be honest, it's really not going to make it any dirtier.  I also love a stickshift.  There's something great about winding the engine up just right before pushing in the clutch to slide it into the next gear.  Taylor just laughed when I asked if the new jeeps had the option of a stickshift.

Today Taylor and I finished planting in our garden.  We put in a row of green beans, okra and hills of squash, zucchini, cantaloup, and watermelon.  We had already planted potatoes, peas, onions, spinach, lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, peppers and corn.  Now we just have to wait and see how well it does.  I'm not sure how green my thumb is, but I'm hoping I can make up whatever I lack in natural gardening talent with hard work.

Roshel and Stewart, Taylor's parents, came over tonight for supper.  I wanted to fix them dinner as a way of saying 'thank you' for feeding the calves while we were gone this weekend.  We made shish kabobs with sides of corn and a spinach salad.  Taylor also asked if I could make him a peanut butter pie.  People may think I spoil him (and maybe they're right), but I also just like making pies.  :)  It was almost as much fun making it as it was to eat a piece after supper. 

I thought I'd stick with the same theme this week for Western Kansas Fact #3: 
Do NOT try to drive fast through the streets of small towns out here (unless you want to ramp your car).  It doesn't rain enough out here to warrant paying to put in drainage systems.  Instead they just put in dips along the edges of the street to allow the water to run down so it doesn't flood the road.  I once made a wrong turn and in the process of trying to quickly go around the block to get back where I needed to be, I bottomed out my old Ford Fusion, hard.

My favorite scripture of the day this week has been:
"A merry heart does good, like medicine."  Proverbs 17:22
I like this scripture because it reminds me that every day I am responsible for my attitude.  Every morning God grants me a new day and fills it with countless blessings, but it's up to me to make the most of it.  And when I create a joyful heart and spirit within me with God at my side, I can overcome any hardship, difficulty or disappointment I might face.

Make your week a great one!
Lyndee